Remember a few months ago when I said I signed my life away for the next five years? If you didn’t catch my starting point article, you can read it here. I bought a 2,900 sq ft laundromat for $7,000 and haven’t looked back. It’s now been six months of surviving laundromat ownership, and I wanted to share an honest update on what we’ve done, what’s worked, and what we’ve learned along the way.
I’ve always valued transparency. I appreciate it when people share real numbers and real experiences, the good, the bad, and everything in between. So that’s what this is.
Early Motivation
I didn’t buy this laundromat because I thought it would be easy money. I bought it because it made sense given where I was in life and my goals this year. One of my 2025 financial goals was to acquire more cash-flowing assets, and the laundromat fit that perfectly. It was a tangible, cash-flowing business, and the numbers worked.
This business offered something my clinical job couldn’t: ownership without bureaucracy. The last six months have been a time of transition in many areas of my life, and it’s been exciting to build something that doesn’t depend on me being in scrubs to generate income.
The deal came up for under $10,000, and while it wasn’t glamorous, it had enormous potential. The machines were old, the bathroom looked like a scene from Saw, and there were almost no systems in place, but the bones were solid, and it was still generating income. It felt like the right kind of “boring” business. The demand was there, customers were still coming, and from our first visits, we could tell there was already a sense of community.
I knew I was buying a lesson. I knew this business would stretch me, and it has, one (extremely heavy) bucket of quarters at a time.
The First 6 Months
Revenue & Expenses
The previous owner, who ran it from January to April, estimated gross revenue between $14,000–$16,000 per month, with about $11,000 in expenses.
Our reality has exceeded those expectations. Below is a breakdown of our gross revenue over the last six months.
April was our first month, and we only owned it for three weeks, so that number is low. But in the months that followed, our revenue steadily increased. From what I have read, the summer months are typically slower in the laundromat world, with people traveling more and being home less, but we didn’t notice a dip at all.
Our expenses are higher than the previous owner’s $11,000 baseline because we added a nightly cleaning service in week one. We’ve since switched to a better company, which brought expenses closer to $12,500/month.
As for profits? We aren’t taking any yet. Every dollar is going back into the business, fixing machines, improving systems, and setting the laundromat up for long-term growth.
Repairs & Upgrades
This is the part that keeps my brain spinning late at night, always thinking about what’s next. Here’s what we tackled month by month:
April
In our first week as owners, we hired a nightly cleaning service, installed automatic locks, and raised vending prices by 150–200%. We thought about 25% of the machines were broken. Reality check: it was closer to 50%. Out of 110 machines, we repaired around 20–25 initially. Today, all but about 20 are working; the last few aren’t worth fixing and will be replaced. We also repainted the entire laundromat white (amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do) and added a posted phone number/QR code for customers to report machine issues. Our landlord replaced the exterior lights, which brightened the building and parking lot.
May
We focused on improving the mobile payment system. The previous owners had PayRange installed, but incorrectly, so only half the machines worked properly. Once we fixed it, revenue from cards jumped from an estimated $100–200/week to $400–600/week. We also replaced all the laundry cart wheels ($8 each instead of $200 new carts), added more security cameras, and restocked the soap vending machine.
June
We upgraded to a large-capacity change machine —one of my favorite (and most expensive) improvements — at $10,000. It’s been worth every penny. We also bought new chairs (Google reviews noticed!) and added a baby-changing table in the bathroom, a small thing that matters a lot when you have kids. (Have you ever changed your baby on the floor?)
July
We hit our first “major” issue: a suspected slab leak. After closing for a day and hiring multiple repair teams, we found the HVAC system was leaking instead. Thankfully, not the slab. It damaged the old floors, which we planned to replace anyway, so we went ahead with new flooring. Bonus expense: $800 to replace a glass door that my husband broke during the move-out from the laundromat for the new floors. (That was a fun conversation.)
August
After the new floors, we removed the broken blinds and added tinted windows, which look better and keep the space cooler. We also found a new, reliable repairman, worth every bit of the $80/hour he charges. Having someone dependable has been a total game-changer for our time and sanity.
September & Beyond
We didn’t complete many physical projects in September, but we made big moves for the coming months. We ordered a new “Laundromat” sign (simple and visible) and scheduled a full bathroom renovation: a new sink, ADA handrails, a tile backsplash, lighting, a door, and a mirror. Customers will definitely appreciate it.
We also met with a machine distributor for Phase 1 of equipment replacement, removing the last non-functional units and installing new machines. It’s a major investment (around $100,000) but with strong ROI. I’m also exploring a full-service laundry vending machine addition in the next few months.
Budgeting Discipline
I loosely follow the Profit First money management model. However, I’m thankful that I don’t need to take owner compensation from this business right now. My breakdown for the budget is this:
This hasn’t been met every month, but over the last two months, it’s a more accurate reflection of where the money is going. My goal is to build an emergency fund with six months of expenses, and I’ll keep adding to that account until it’s fully funded. I estimate that won’t happen for at least another year, since I’m sitting at about two months right now, but that’s okay.
My focus right now is on upgrades and continuing to grow our gross revenue to $25,000 per month. My first goal was to get the laundromat to $20,000 a month, and we’ve hit that in the last two months. Now it’s on to the next milestone. Once the laundromat consistently reaches that next goal, I’ll consider adding a wash–dry–fold service (and an employee).
Time & Systems
I wrote an article about the time I was spending at the laundromat and how it compares to my PA salary. You can read that here. I logged about 95 hours that month while writing that article. Since then, we’ve reduced collections to once every 5 days instead of twice weekly, which has helped a lot. We also haven’t needed to make as many extended trips for repairs or upgrades now that we’ve settled into a good routine with our new maintenance guy, who has done excellent work for us.
Our new cleaners also order their own supplies and track low stock in vending machines, which saves me time. My time spent at the laundromat in August was around 55 hours, and in September was around 40 hours (but my husband did two collections alone because of my schedule). It’s definitely getting more passive as we get better at anticipating problems and solving them earlier.
What Has Worked
We’ve built relationships with our regular customers and continue to hear stories from people who have been coming to the laundromat for years and are happy with the progress. Early on, we heard from several people who said they planned never to come back if it was still gross, but after seeing all the changes we’ve made, they’ve returned and stayed. Regulars are also getting their friends to come back, which has been some of our best marketing.
We’ve stayed coin-based for now. Even though we’ve explored converting to cards, that money just isn’t worth it for us right now. We’ve learned to handle minor repairs ourselves, and we have a great system with our repairman that minimizes the time we have to be there.
We’ve opened net-30 accounts and started building business credit. Most importantly, I’ve learned new skills, business management, time management, delegation, lease negotiation, process improvement, and more.
What Hasn’t Worked
Finding a balance in life was harder at first. We were making a lot of trips to the laundromat and neglecting our homeschool schedule. That’s gotten much better over the last two months. I still spend a lot of time on the accounting and budgeting side of the business because it’s constantly changing and growing. I’ve thought about getting an accountant, but I can still manage it for now.
Starting in November, I’ll be reducing the number of medical shifts I work each month since I quit my full-time job and don’t plan to take another one right away. That should help bring more balance to my life.
Intangible Benefits
This has been my favorite part of owning a laundromat. Seeing my kids enjoy all aspects of the business is so rewarding. There have been times when problems came up and we had to make a spontaneous trip to the laundromat, and they’re always on board. They’ll say things like, “This is our business; we have to take care of it,” repeating what they’ve heard us say. We get them involved in every task, and they really thrive there.
I’ve found so much satisfaction in growing another revenue stream for my family and seeing the potential to replicate it. I feel less burned out in medicine because I have something else to develop and build. It’s still work, but it doesn’t feel like work.
Business cons
In the spirit of transparency, there are still some downsides to this business. A lot of tasks can be offloaded to other people, which is great, but the actual coin and money collection is something we still don’t feel comfortable delegating. We’re handling between $3,000–$6,000 in cash each collection, which could be tempting for someone to steal. That keeps us personally involved in the business, at least for now.
Another con is dealing with negative people. Most customers are great, but a few aren’t, and those calls are never fun. The overall response has been overwhelmingly positive, but it only takes one rude or impatient customer to make your day harder.
Conclusion
Overall, we’ve really enjoyed owning this business for the last six months. In the next six months, we plan to continue building our emergency fund, complete Phase 1 of the machine replacement, and potentially add a few employees and another revenue stream to the laundromat.
For me, this investment has been a big step toward financial independence, not because it’s a home run, but because of the skills I’m learning. These lessons can be replicated over and over again to create something great.
Stay tuned for another update at the one-year mark to see if this business ever beats my PA salary, and whether we decide to do it all over again with Round 2.